This weekend, I put out what I call my "distress call" to one of our Peer-to-Peer Mentors who is also one of our Board of Directors. First, what constitutes a "distress call?" When I have a veteran that is exhibiting the signs of classic PTSD and not responding to family requests appropriately or to me, then I call in my boys (don't get offended, I just don't have any girls on staff for us at the moment). A single father of a 5 year old boy, Mark gave up his Sunday afternoon to spend about two hours with one of our GWOT Veterans that is exhibiting the classic symptoms of PTSD (isolation, aggression, at-risk behavior, shall I go on...). He asked the veteran, "What do you do all day?" He responded, "Sit here and play X-box." Mark looked at him and said, "Dude, you have got to have a purpose. What has meaning to you? What do you do that is productive? You have to have a purpose." When we left him, I put a sign on his television so that when he came in he would see it. It was the dictionary definition of "purpose."
Purpose (n): the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal. ddetermination; resoluteness.the subject in hand; the point at issue. (v) to resolve (to do something).
On Monday, an F5 Tornado left a path of devastation and destruction in the community of Moore, Oklahoma. My Fight Continues Family, my boys, went into what I call "combat mode." That means, they were given a purpose by a higher power. Given their training from their respective military branches, given their life experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, they felt that their purpose was to go to Moore, Oklahoma to assist in the wake of the tornado. Our first team left yesterday and arrived. Explained their purpose and their gifts to offer and were quickly placed in charge of one of the elementary schools. At 0700 this morning, their rescue efforts began. Our second team with heavy equipment to use to remove large pieces of debris should be arriving as I write this.
I have come to understand their definition of purpose. It is something bigger than you. It is something that no matter what, you are called to do. I am a firm believer that we are all given our talents and gifts in this life by a higher power. I am also a believer that we are set on a path in life with our experiences as our teachers. Once we have learned, not far down the road, the student becomes the teacher. On Friday afternoon, I will be leaving with our third team from The Fight Continues taking down the supplies that have been asked for based on their assessments. It is my purpose. It is my resolve to do this. It is the reason for which I have existed or been intended to be utilized by my higher power. Am I prepared for what I am about to walk into...probably not. We have been assigned the elementary school and will be working with the spouses that have lost their spouses to retrieve items from their homes or what is left of their homes. My prayer is that God gives me the strength, the resolve to do what I am intended to do.
None, absolutely none of this is about me...The Fight Continues...my amazing boys....it is about our purpose as a member of the human race...a purpose to give back, pay it forward, and be there in a time of need.
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